"Is it all really true?" Richard asked Maria after she had told him everything. "The girl is alive, and you want to save her instead of experimenting?"

Maria nodded. "Please understand, Richard. She's not just a creature. She's a living girl. She's amazing and kind, and she deserves to live as much as you and me."

"I suppose you're right, but..."

"But?"

"We could make a fortune off of her. We would never have to work again! Doesn't that sound wonderful?"

Maria shook her head. "I'd rather work every day for the rest of my life then lose her. Please, Richard. You're the only one I can trust to get on the inside and tell me what's going on."

Richard sighed. "Maria, I really didn't want to get into the business at that old lab. It's too risky for me to try. Besides, if I get myself in, there's no promise that I'll make it out."

Maria frowned. "You're right. I shouldn't force all of this on you. I need to continue my search, but it was lovely seeing you again, Richard. Take care."

Then, Maria pulled out her scythe, and dashed into the woods, leaving Richard to gape after her.

***

Sebastian was spying on the lab from the bushes. He was staring at one window, the only one around the entire building, it seemed, that had a light.

He heard something behind him, and turned fast, ready to strike. His fist stopped inches away from Finny's face.

Sebastian sighed in relief, then lowered his arm.

"I'm sorry to sneak up on you, Sebastian, but Maria and I found out something."

"What is it?"

"We ran into a man Maria knows, and he said none of the workers have left the lab since you killed Christopher. They have a new person in charge."

Sebastian nodded. "It seems so."

Then, Maria appeared. "Good, you haven't run in there yet."

Sebastian nodded again. "Why don't you two go back into town and see if you can find out anything else?" 

"We've asked everyone already, Sebastian," Maria told him. "If we go back, people may get suspicious."

"Then why don't you all wait here for Alex and Samantha? I'm going to search the woods around here on foot."

Finny saluted, and Sebastian took off into the trees.

***

Selena's POV:

I woke up to my cage moving. I sat up quickly, scared someone was going to do something with me, but it was just a gust of strong, ice cold wind blowing at me. I went to my last resort, and spread my wings, then wrapped them around me, blocking out the wind. 

It was my last resort because I hadn't wanted to show off my wings to everyone. They knew that I had them, but I still wanted to keep them hidden. Now, I just wanted to stay warm.

I sat there for maybe fifteen minutes, huddled in my wings, before I heard voices. They were faint, but I heard them. And they sounded familiar.

"Alex?" I mentally called out to him.

"I'm here, Selena."

"Are you coming? I can't do this much longer, and I hear people."

"It must be the hunters, Selena. I'm looking for you right now, though. Any description of where you might be?"

"I have no idea," I said. "All I know is that I'm surrounded my trees. I can't see the sky, and I can't tell if it's snowing. There's light, but not much. Just enough that I know it's daylight."

Alex was silent for a moment, and I was scared something might have happened to him. 

"Alex?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was just thinking that searching by air isn't going to do much good if you can't see the sky. It means that we can't see you because you're under the canopy. We'll have to land and search on foot."

"'We?'"

"Yup." Alex responded, but didn't explain further. "I'll keep looking, Selena. Stay strong."

"I'll do my best."

***

Third Person POV:

Alex opened his eyes after he finished talking to his sister. He had landed when he had heard her calling out to him so he wouldn't crash and hurt Samantha or himself. 

Samantha glanced at him. "What did she say?" 

"That us flying is useless. She's hidden under the trees, so we can't find her from above."

"So what do we do now?"

Alex thought for a moment. They really had two options. They could either go back to where they had all split up, or continue searching on foot from where they are now. He told Samantha of the options.

"Well, I say we go back, because if we continue from here, we may get lost. Plus if we are already past her, we risk going the complete wrong direction and not saving her."

"Alright," Alex said, standing. "Let's walk back toward our spot, that way if we had passed over her, we may locate her on our way to meeting up with the others."

Samantha nodded, smiling. "Sounds good to me."

Alex held out his hand, and she took it, then they started walking back toward the lab together.

***

Sebastian was running through the thick trees, dodging branches like it was child's play. He ran for an hour, searching desperately for his sick daughter, who was shivering in the cold. Eventually, he heard something. Creaking. 

He froze, and stayed perfectly still for a full minute, listening. The creaking seemed to be coming from his left, and he followed it, quickly.

He came to a spot where the creaking seemed to be the loudest, but there was nothing around him. All he saw was snow and trees. 

"Selena?" he called, semi-quiet.

He heard a gasp. "Dad? Is that you?"

Sebastian breathed a sigh of relief, then ran toward his daughter's voice. He found her in a cage that was suspended a few feet from the ground.

He reached the cage and grabbed the bars, but then instantly pulled away, hissing. He glanced at his daughter, smiling at him. She was wearing only her under dress, her long black hair was a mess, her skin was as white as the snow, and her eyes had lost their usual glow. Her wings were spread as well, feathers ruffled from the wind.

"Dad, you're really here? I'm not imagining this, am I?"

Sebastian smiled. "No, Selena. I am really here. This is no hallucination, I promise."

Selena's eyes filled with tears, and she reached her hand through the bars, not caring about the burn of the metal anymore. Sebastian took her cold hand in his and held it. 

"Now, let's get you out of there, shall we?"

Selena was about to answer, when she heard voices again. But she knew these voices, and her smile widened. 

She turned and saw Alex, holding hands with a familiar looking demon. "Alex!" she called out.

Alex looked up and broke out into a huge grin when he saw his sister. He ran toward her, pulling the demon girl along beside him. Once they were closer, Selena finally realized who it was. 

"Samantha!"

"Selena! Are you alright?"

"I-"

"Selena?" Sebastian asked, seeing her frozen. "What's wrong?"

But as soon as he was finished asking, he knew. He turned and saw a group of hunters walking toward them, along with a couple of demons he had known before. Selena noticed it was the one who had been speaking with her earlier.

Selena gripped her father's hand tighter, and for the first time since being locked in the cage, she felt true fear. Not for herself, but for those around her, and she prayed that if she didn't make it through this, they did. 

(So it's a terrible ending, but I had to do something to end the chapter, cause I kept going and was gonna finish the whole story in this one chapter and it would end up being three million words long! So I'll try to update in a week like a normally try to do but then end up not doing for some strange reason. Anyway, guys, if you haven't yet, please please PLEASE check out "Yes, My Lady." I am really proud of how it's turning out. Of course I'm not sure how much of it will be up by the time this chapter goes up, but still. Pretty please with your favorite toppings on top. I don't know if you guys can feel it or not, but this story may be coming to a close soon. Make sure I get suggestions for a fourth book, guys, or there won't be one!!!! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you all in the next one. Love you!)